BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL “COUNTRY ROADS” RIDE & RALLY FOR ANTIQUE & SPECIALTY CARS & ALL MOTORCYLES August 6, 2016 REGISTRATION BEGINNING @ 10:00 AM ROLLING START FROM 11:00 AM TO 1:00 PM SUGGESTED DONATION $20 /VEHICLE TO BENEFIT WEST DOVER CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH & DEERFIELD VALLEY RESCUE ROUTES WILL BE SHEETED 2 DIRECTIONS: CARS GO 1 DIRECTION; CYCLES GO THE OTHER (TOUR WITH YOUR CLUB OR GROUP) START & END AT ROUTE 100 WEST DOVER CHURCH END AT THE CHURCH WITH A “BLUEBERRY TREAT”! (TREATS FROM 1 PM TO 5 PM) FOR MORE INFO CONTACT MERRILL @ 802-464-2042

West Dover – The West Dover Congregational Church will host a benefit concert for the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry on Sunday, January 18 at 10:30 am featuring the music of Chris Bakriges on piano and Stanley Chepaitis on violin. They will be accompanied by Holly Fortner (vocals) and Joe Fortner (guitar).

Tickets are available at the door by freewill donation Proceeds will benefit the Deerfield Valley Food Pantry and the music program at WDCC

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. –

Christopher Bakriges (piano, composer) is resident artist at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston and Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts. His doctorate in ethnomusicology/musicology afforded him the opportunity to study with the legendary Oscar Peterson. His work traverses jazz, chamber, and world music. Bakriges is a founding member of Critical Theory Ensemble, Quartet ‘Til the End of Time, and co-lead the Oikos Ensemble and the Disciples of Cool. Bakriges has performed throughout the United States and internationally in India, Pakistan, Turkey, The Czech Republic, United Kingdom, and France.
Stanley Chepaitis (violin) is Chair of the String Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Stanley is a founding member of the Litton Quartet and the Gorell Trio. He has conducted operas by Mozart (The Impressario), Menotti (The Telephone), Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, and Mikado by Gilbert & Sullivan. He learned jazz from the legendary Joe Venuti as well as from Duke Ellington’s drummer Floyd Williams. His international performances include engagements at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Croatia, the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a special jazz program for an audience of German music teachers at the Hoechschule in Hanover, Germany. In the states, Stanley has presented concerts at the Eastman School’s Kilbourne Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Krannert Center, in Champagne, Illinois.

West Dover Congregational Church is located at 104 Route 100N in West Dover, Vermont. For more information, call (802)464-1195

PRESS RELEASE – December 14th at 10:30 AM following the 9:00 AM service at West Dover

MEETINGHOUSE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL AT WDCC

CONTACT: The Rev. Jim Littrell, 802-365-4512

WINTER SOLSTICE FESTIVAL AT WEST DOVER CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
A celebration of light, music, words and gifts will be held on Sunday morning, December 14th at 10:30 AM following the 9:00 AM service at West Dover Congregational Church, the heart of West Dover village. The celebration is a gift to the entire Deerfield Valley performed by both internationally known and local musicians as part of the church’s new series, Music and Arts in the Meetinghouse under the direction of the church’s Music Director, Christopher Bakriges.

In the Northern Hemisphere, solstice will occur this year at 11:03 PM on December 21 and marks the shortest day of the year, when the sun is at its lowest point, so the concert is a little early, but darkness there is plenty of! The word solstice literally means ‘standing-still sun’. The longest night of the year is unfailingly followed by longer days and more light, and solstice is often therefore celebrated as a Festival of Light emerging from the darkest darknesses of our lives. The lights that line the streets and byways of the Valley and decorate nearly every home and business these days are one way human beings have traditionally, for thousands of years, marked this time of year. The music and poetry of the concert will speak to and reflect that theme: Light in Darkness.
“Solstice is a wonderful festival!” says the Rev. Jim Littrell, WDCC’s interim minister. “Since at least medieval days in northern climates, it’s been a time to celebrate hope and faith in the future in the darkest time of the year and, symbolically, reminds us that even a tiny ray of light obliterates any darkness. What a great thing to celebrate, especially since everyone can bring some light into another life, into the Valley, into even the world by a simple act of kindness or love.”

John Stowell, a world-class guitarist based in Oregon comes to us directly from a concert in Austria. He will be collaborating in the concert with WDCC’s music guru, keyboard artist and composer Christopher Bakriges. John performed with flutist Paul Horn in an historic tour of the former Soviet Union, as well as with Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson, just to name a few. He’s also a columnist for ‘Downbeat,” ‘Guitar Player’ and ‘Canadian Musician’.

Deerfield Valley’s own Sindy Hassig and Lake Raponda & Connecticut’s Holly Winger and Joe Fortner, all three of whom bring incredible local talent to the Meetinghouse, will join Chris and John in the concert.

This will be a wide-ranging informal show that includes traditional and original vocals, poetry, and instrumentals, all speaking to Solstice and some involving the audience.

The concert is free but donations are strongly suggested to support the West River Habitat of Humanity (https://www.facebook.com/WestRiverHabitatForHumanity), now building their fifth area home, and to sustain the Meetinghouse Music and Arts Series at WDCC (www.westdoverchurch.com), so named because in its beginning the WDCC was called and used as a community Meetinghouse. Our goal is that it should always be a gathering place for the whole Valley community.

Church precedes the service at 9 AM if you are so inclined. Food and conversation go on in between! No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here, as we celebrate the power of Light in the Darkness.